Mrs. Greenburg
10 Honors English
27 November 2009
A Man of His Word
“I have a dream that one day my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). These wise and upholding words of confidence and determination changed the face of America during a time of hate and discrimination. King’s inspirational leadership and speeches helped make a local bus protest into a historical event (“King, Martin Luther Jr.”) He gathered thousands of people, both black and white, to many encouraging protests and meetings to bring a hateful and racist world to peace. His strategy of “encouraging nonviolent protest and interracial cooperation helped him to fight effectively again the southern system” (King, Martin Luther Jr.”). These strategies were also based on the belief of Indian pacifist Mohandas Gandhi. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ambition to seek a perfect world was extravagant; he will always be in the minds and hearts of Americans in years to come. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). His birth name was Michael, but he later changed it to Martin (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). His parent’s names were Alberta and Martin Luther King, Sr. Alberta was a homemaker and Martin Sr. was a minister (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). Martin Jr. also had an older sister, named Christine, and a younger brother, named Alfred
Rogers 2
(“Martin Luther King Jr.). Young Martin grew up in Atlanta to a very loving family highly devoted to service and faith. When Martin was young, he first encountered racism when his friends’ mother (who was white) did not allow him to play with her white son (Darby 8). Martin was too young to understand completely the meaning of why